Gastric Bypass Surgery

My weight loss journey after Gastric Bypass surgery.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Post Gastric Bypass Surgery CT Scan

I saw this piece they did on the news about how 1/3 of gastric bypass surgery patients are too obese to fit into the CT machines to check for problems post surgery. It made me kinda mad because they kept making it sound like the gastric bypass surgery caused this problem! That is something that is talked about before the surgery and is a part of it, as far as the weight, they would not be having the surgery if they did not need to desperately lose weight!

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Gastric Bypass Support Meetings

Meeting and talking with other individuals who have undergone weight loss surgery is very important to the success of the weight loss surgery patient. Having this kind of surgery is traumatic no matter what kind of surgery it is. A lot of people underestimate the gastric bypass surgery groups but there are essentials to those patients who recovering from losing their weight. Finding gastric bypass support groups in your area can pose a challenge but you do have some options.

Gastric bypass is traditionally a laparoscopic or minimally invasive procedure. During the operation, which requires general anesthesia (being completely "put under"), a surgeon makes tiny incisions in the abdominal area and, working with a miniature scope, divides the stomach into two sections with two rows of stitch-like staples. Between the rows of staples, the surgeon makes incisions so scar tissue will grow over the staples to secure them in place. It is also called a stomach stapling or bar iatric (weight-loss) surgery. A surgery procedure involves dividing the stomach into a upper and bottom section using staples (similar to stitches) or banding. The upper section will become a small pouch that will be attached to the small intestine, bypassing the bottom section of the stomach

People having problem with this kind of surgery because they are not prepared for this kind of surgery. It has a radical changes that they need to come up after undergoing this kind of procedure. This surgery than only in extreme cases of lifestyle changes as well. Gastric bypass support groups are designed to help individuals adjust to those drastic changes.

Life it seems so overwhelming when a person suffering form obesity. This challenging and bravery decisions can make individual undergo surgery in order to lose weight. Literally, person's who has gone this kind of surgery which is the gastric bypass surgery doing an effort to save their lives. That's why joining gastric bypass support groups are very helpful and everyone is encouraged to join in this kind of procedure.

Even though this is the major problems that an obese individual faces in a certain issues. It is really a struggle to a person when body is having an excess amount of weight they have. This is impossible also to individuals in joining local gastric bypass support groups but, this groups doesn't require the person to attend in person. There's another way where you can find the said group. One here is through Internet, where you can find gastric bypass support group which offers so many helpful resources than to attend in person.

And here's a testimony about a friend of mine suffered obesity. He was constantly on a diet, he mostly using high protein approaches in losing weight such as Atkins diet pill to help him drop a few pounds, but instead of having losing some pounds about 40 or 50, he would start gaining back the weight faster than you could imagine. Not only this while he gains back what he lost, he added a few pounds each round.

Since things are run out of control anymore his doctor recommend surgery to work on this problem right away and he complied. The Procedure finally okay but he had in difficulty in recovering this. And he comes up with fine feeling but he was depressed and slow-moving on his recovery. He feel that he had no energy and he rarely cracked a smile and soon he found himself looking to gastric bypass support groups for help.

These kinds of things, my friend don't want this himself to do alone. The gastric bypass support groups that met face to face every week were my friend doesn't like this. Even though he joined this group, he soon stopped attending. The gastric bypass support groups were helping but he just wasn't keeping up with the meetings.

Later he found out wonderful options on gastric bypass support groups through online rather than in person. He get discussed some emotional aspects of his experience and get proper eating plans. He also gets to help others in the process which is the best part as far as he is concerned.

With an Internet connection, everyone can find these groups by doing some surfing through the net. The goal of this groups always the same that the focus may vary. Other people who are facing the same surgery or have already successfully lost weight are looking for or offering support. Just imagine how encouraging it is for someone who has this surgery to be able to communicate with someone who has reached their goal weight.

The set up of this group may differ. Some are designed as forums, where individuals can visit at anytime and post comments or questions. This kind of gastric bypass group are suitable for everyone who are not comfortable posting online. People can actually visit the site online and can read the questions and comments. There are moderators in, many cases on these gastric bypass support groups who have an experience with that surgery. Their comments can provide insight into what can be expected during and following surgery.

Some sites online provide chat on this. This kind of idea is an ideal for those people who want to talk one on one with others encountered the same hurdles. For established new members, many online gastric bypass support groups have weekly or monthly scheduled chats on this. People log into the chat and can comment on anything they wish as well as read the thoughts of others.

The gastric bypass support groups are necessity for anyone who has gone through this difficult process. The individuals are not only allowed you to help them through their journeys but also help through your questions and concerns as well.

This form of weight loss some people views this as an easy way out. People who have done this it will say otherwise. This groups involves essential changes in all aspects of a person's life and having someone to turn to can make a world of difference. Online gastric bypass support groups can lend a helping hand to anyone either considering the surgery or those who've already done it.

Crizza
weight loss

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Crizza_Reyes

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Monday, August 27, 2007

Weight Loss Photos- Before and After Pictures of Gastric Bypass Surgery

I wish I had taken more pictures of my weight loss following my gastric bypass surgery but I did come across some poliroids from the local fair I attend every March and scanned them onto my computer. The first photo is March 2005 (9 months befor weight loss surgery), the 2nd photo is March 2006 (3 months after gastric bypass surgery) and the last photo is from a weddding I attended in January 2007 (we did not get a picture at the fair that year). If you notice my girlfriend has also been losing weight in these photos, she lost 50 pounds using low carb recipes to lose weight!




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Monday, July 30, 2007

Body Temperature After Gastric Bypass Surgery

I wrote a post back in March about how I get cold so easy following my weight loss surgery and how it was hard to adjust from being overweight and hot to 100+ pounds lighter and freezing! Well I do not know if it is the hot Florida sun or if the article was right on by saying your body regulates its temperature after about a year and a half post gastric bypass surgery, but it seems my body temp is back to normal!!

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Friday, June 08, 2007

Portion Distortion, Why Gastric Bypass Surgery Works

This article is not about gastric bypass surgery but is about how we are over weight because of our large portion sizes, which is why gastric bypass surgery works! Anyways, I thought it was an interesting article, here it is....

How To Turn Super Sizing, Dietary Displacement and Portion Distortion To Your Advantage!
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com

Ever since the independent film, Super Size Me was released, research on the relationship between increasing obesity and increasing portion sizes has skyrocketed and the results have been virtually unanimous.

There have been numerous well-designed studies published just in the last several years which confirmed exactly what we suspected (and much of what the movie suggested):

* Portion sizes have increased in restaurants and fast food venues on a major scale over the last several decades
* We self-serve ourselves larger portions in the home than we used to
* When more food is put in front of us, we almost always eat more
* most people underestimate how many calories they are eating
* All of these factors have contributed to the growing obesity problem and the related health problems that come along with it

The obvious solution would seem to be to decrease portion sizes across the board, and indeed awareness of and control over portion sizes in general is important.

However, research has demonstrated that perhaps an even better solution is to keep the portion sizes generous, but decrease the energy density (calories per unit of volume) in the foods you put on your plate.

Several studies revealed that eating more low calorie density foods, especially green vegetables, salad vegetables and other fibrous carbs, as well as very lean proteins, maintains a feeling of fullness while reducing energy intake.

In other words, large portions of highly nutritious, low calorie foods displaced the less nutritious, calorie-dense foods! Most people allow the bad foods to push out the good foods, but you can actually do the same in reverse!

In a study published in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association, researchers fed one group a compulsory first course salad which was kept low in energy density by using very low calorie dressing with no high calorie toppings no bacon, cheese or croutons, etc).After the salad, the subjects were allowed to eat as much pasta as they wanted.

A second group was also allowed to eat as much pasta as they wanted but was not given a compulsory salad to eat beforehand.

The results: As you might guess, eating a low energy density first course enhanced satiety (fullness) and reduced the overall amount of calories that were eaten during the whole meal.
Since the research has repeatedly discovered that almost everyone will eat more when served larger portions from a larger plate or container, and there is obviously a serious issue of "portion distortion" occurring, another group of scientists and psychologists decided to test this even further by providing larger plates or containers of low energy density, high nutrient density foods before the main course and or in between meals.

When more of the low energy density foods were made available first, the subjects ate even more of these healthy foods, which filled them up even more and decreased the amount of high calorie density foods eaten in the main course.

Reporting their findings in the Journal of Nutrition Education And Behavior, the researchers said that there is a silver lining to all the negative findings about super sized portions and overeating that we have discoverd inrecent years:

That is, although we eat more when more is put in front of us, We can use this phenomenon in reverse by serving large plates, bowls or containers of healthy, low energy density foods like fruits, salads and raw vegetables as snacks and first courses.

"While a small bowl of raw carrots might make for a good afternoon snack", said one of the researchers, "a large bowl might even be better."

You can learn more about calorie density, low energy density foods (thermogenic foods), and choosing your portion and meal sizes with precision inside the Burn The Fat ebook. For more information, visit: www.burnthefat.com

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Building Muscle After Gastric Bypass

Well, since I have only been working the one job again, I have had plenty of time to get back to the gym and workout. At least three times a week I do a 2 hour routine at the gym and I am able to start seeing the results ;)

I want to gain more muscle, so I was checking out some websites and articles on building muscle and came across this one:

The Perfect Rep Range For Building Muscle

No matter what you read or who you talk to, everyone has their own opinion of what the "perfect" rep range should be to allow for maximum muscle stimulation and growth. In this article I’m going to clear up the confusion once and for all and reveal what I believe to be the most effective rep range possible for maximizing your results in the gym.

Sets that utilize heavy weight and low reps are without a doubt the most effective means of stimulating maximum muscle growth. For every set that you perform in the gym, you should utilize a rep range of 5 to 7.

This means that the weight should be light enough that you can complete 5 reps using proper form, but heavy enough that you cannot complete more than 7.

What's so special about 5 to 7, you ask? Well…

1) Each set will only last between 20-30 seconds.
Maximizing your muscle gains is all about intensity and efficiency. By utilizing a lower rep range, your sets will only last a short period of time, allowing you to generate 100% mental focus and effort.

Training with 100% intensity is critical to stimulating muscle growth and it is much easier to maintain this level of effort for shorter periods of time.

2) Muscle stimulation will be maximized.
Utilizing a rep range of 5 to 7 you will force your body to tap into your "fast twitch muscle fibers", which are by far the most responsive to muscular growth. This will result in the greatest amount of muscle growth and strength gain possible.

3) Maximum resistance can be used.
By performing only 5 to 7 reps per set, you will enable your muscles to handle heavier amounts of weight. Building muscle is a byproduct of building strength, and training in a lower rep range is the most effective way to accomplish this. Since your strength will shoot up much faster using 5 to 7 reps per set, so will your muscle size.

4) Lactic Acid production will be kept to a minimum.
Training in the range of 5 to 7 will also decrease the amount of lactic acid that is secreted within the muscles. Lactic acid is a metabolic waste product that is produced as the body burns carbohydrates for fuel. By limiting the amount of lactic acid production you will decrease muscle catabolism and create an environment in the body where greater amounts of energy can be generated.

Okay, so we've established that a rep range of 5-7 is the most effective means of stimulating muscle growth.

However, this does not apply all the time or on every single lift. There are a few select muscle groups that should be stimulated using a slightly higher rep range. These are the calves, abs, forearms and upper traps. These muscle groups are predominantly made up of slow-twitch fibers, and therefore will respond better to higher reps.

For this reason, a rep range of 10-12 should be utilized for these muscle groups.
Summary:

Perform 5-7 reps for the chest, lats, biceps, triceps, shoulders and thighs.Perform 10-12 reps for the calves, abs, forearms and upper traps.

Choosing a proper rep range is just one small piece of the puzzle when designing an effective workout routine. If you want to maximize your results and learn about all of the other aspects of workout structure such as exercise selection, sets, days in the gym, bodypart splits, rest periods and more, click the link below to visit my website.

About The Author
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding expert, fitness author and writer of top-selling Internet Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle. If you want to learn how to build the greatest amount of lean muscle mass and strength possible in the shortest period of time, visit his website: MuscleGainTruth.com

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Picture After Gastric Bypass Surgery




This picture is from a wedding I attended in January and I thought I looked pretty good in my size 14!! Had a couple people not recognize me because they had not seen me since before I had the gastric bypass surgery.

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Friday, March 09, 2007

Always Cold After Gastric Bypass Surgery

Before I had gastric bypass surgery I was always hot. I mean sitting in front of the AC vent wearing a tank top and shorts and sipping a cool drink but still hot, kind of hot! But now that I have lost 125 pounds following bariatric weight loss surgery, I am freezing! I mean I wear a jacket into a restaurant and still shiver when everyone else is okay. Well, I found an article on the subject and I thought it was interesting mostly because I had not seen info on this subject of gastric bypass surgery before.


I'm Freezing! Why Gastric Bypass Causes Patients to be Cold
By Kaye Bailey


Body temperature is the result of your body generating and radiating heat. The body is adept at keeping its temperature within a narrow range even though ambient air conditions vary. A normal body temperature is 98.6°F. It is common during the period of rapid weight loss for bariatric patients to feel cold or chilled, even when their temperature reads normal.

People who experience the massive weight loss associated with weight loss surgery experience feeling cold for two reasons: loss of insulation and less energy generation.

Fat is a highly efficient insulator. Consider animals native to cold climates: for example sea lions and polar bears. They are loaded with insulation and thrive in cold climates. When gastric bypass patients follow the rules: eating protein and exercising, the weight lost can only come from fat or stored energy. In effect you are losing your insulation. Less insulation increases the likelihood that you will feel cold.

The second reason for feeling chilled is that the metabolic cell processes are not working as hard as when you were heavier; it takes fewer calories and less energy to maintain and move a smaller body. Think about using an electric mixer: if you are whipping egg whites for a meringue the mixer will do this task effortlessly. But use the same mixer to knead bread dough and it will become warm to the touch, it is working harder because it is moving more mass. The same thing happens with your body; the more mass it must move, the harder it works. As a result more heat is generated.

The body has two well-tuned mechanisms for regulating body temperature: sweating and shivering. What overweight person hasn’t been embarrassed by a sticky bout of sweating at the most inappropriate time? Sweating is a mechanism for cooling your body when it becomes too hot inside. The body rids itself of excess heat by expanding the blood vessels in the skin so the heat may be carried to the surface. When this energy or heat in the form of sweat reaches the skin’s surface it evaporates and helps cool the body.

Gastric bypass patients become more familiar with the second temperature regulator, shivering, as they lose weight. When you are too cold your blood vessels will contract reducing blood flow to the skin. The body responds by shivering which creates extra muscle activity to help generate more heat. If you allow your body to shiver it will begin to feel warmer. But this is also a good clue that it’s time to put on a sweater or turn up the heat. I think most weight loss patients will happily wear a sweater – a sweater is much easier to shed than that insulation we’ve worked so hard to lose!

Most weight loss patients report that their body temperature regulates after their weight is stabilized, usually eighteen to twenty-four months after surgery. Keep in mind your body is rapidly losing weight and the rest of your body’s functions are caught off guard when this weight loss begins. The body’s thermostat needs time to catch up to the weight loss, and it will. Patients who incorporate exercise in their weight loss program experience less chilling than patients who do not exercise.

Copyright © 2005 Kaye Bailey - All Rights Reserved

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com - Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaye_Bailey

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Friday, December 08, 2006

Insurance For Gastric Bypass Surgery


Gastric Bypass Insurance

Gastric bypass surgery (also called bariatric surgery) having been validated by the medical fraternity is fast gaining momentum and is covered under Health Insurance for most. However, some insurance companies still do not cover any weight loss surgery and even if your insurance company offers the coverage that does not mean that you will be automatically covered.

Assuming your doctor agrees that you are a candidate for gastric bypass surgery, you should contact your insurance company to verify that they cover weight loss surgery and what has to be done to qualify. Some insurance companies only cover this surgery if it is life threatening not to have it or there is medical evidence that your weight is attributing to your health conditions and most insurance companies will not approve the procedure if they feel you can lose weight by alternative means.

To get gastric bypass surgery approved by your insurance you must have a body mass index (BMI) of 45 or above, have your doctor write a letter giving his/her approval and have documented attempts at losing weight. If the surgery qualifies for coverage, your insurance carrier may require both physical and psychological clearances as part of the gastric bypass preparation.

Even if your insurance company will not cover the actual procedure, they may cover one or more of the other costs related to your gastric bypass such as testing to determine eligibility for gastric bypass surgery, pre-admission testing, in-hospital costs, surgeon and other doctor fees, and post-surgery medication and care.

More and more insurance companies are beginning to see obesity as a serious health disorder and have begun to cover some of the cost of gastric bypass surgery and are improving insurance coverage for obesity surgery.

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